Khab Tai Dam (Black Tai Folksongs): The Preservation and Adaptation of Musical Culture for the Maintenance of Ethnic Identity Sutee Chansri1* and Somsonge Burusphat2 1Department of Thai and Asian Music, College of Music Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University, Thailand 2Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University, Thailand Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract This article aims to describe the identity maintenance of the Tai Dam ethnic group through an analysis of musical components of Khab Tai Dam which was a cultural symbol that changed in accordance with the social context. The case study was mainly of Tai Dam people living in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. The study result found that Khab Tai Dam serves two functions; it is sung at ritual ceremonies and for entertainment culture. The first function is tied to the Tai Dam belief that the singer must learn and strictly follow the traditional practice of Khab Tai Dam as it has been preserved by their ancestors and transmitted from one generation to another. The second function involves an adaptation of Khab Tai Dam by blending the traditional rhythm and content with the rhythmic patterns of modern musical instruments such as the electone in order to appeal to a wider audience, especially Tai Dam teenagers. In all three countries, both functions were found but Khab Tai Dam’s roles have diminished. In Thailand, the ethnic musical components or patterns of singing have been maintained. However, the role of Khab Tai Dam has changed to become a cultural demonstration of ethnic cultural preservation at the annual festival held in Tai Dam communities. In Vietnam, the singing has also been maintained but new technology in the form of karaoke DVDs is used to promote Khab Tai Dam. Music videos portraying various aspects Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Vol.17(3): 131-154, 2017 Khab Tai Dam (Black Tai Folksongs) Sutee Chansri and Somsonge Burusphat of ethnic life have been produced. In Laos, the Lam Phloen rhythm, which is a part of mainstream Lao musical culture, has been incorporated into the traditional patterns and an electronic organ has replaced traditional instruments like gongs. The diminished roles of Khab Tai Dam in the three countries reflects the fact that traditional Khab Tai Dam is rarely being transmitted down to qualified successors. Without a willing new generation to take over the art, traditional Khab Tai Dam no longer functions as a cultural symbol. On the other hand, modern Khab Tai Dam, which has been changed and adapted for learning and succession purposes, has retained the typical features of Tai Dam music whilst also blending in modern music. Consequently, modern Khab Tai Dam is able to continue to express Tai Dam identity within the dynamic societies of the three countries. Keywords: Tai Dam; Black Tai; Ethnomusicology; Ethnic Identity; Khab Tai Dam; folksong 132 Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts Introduction The ethnic Tai Dam group is found in four countries: China, Laos, Thailand, and northeastern Vietnam. They believe that their ancestors originated in Sipsongchuthai Region, the homeland of the Tai peoples in Southeast Asia and migrated to other countries due to conflicts or in search of better and more fertile land on which to settle. Singing accompanied by bamboo free-reed pipes has been part of the musical culture of this region for over 3,000 years. Various ethnic groups use a variety of bamboo grown in their communities to make pipes. A piece of thin metal is used as a mouthpiece while other ethnic groups use it in a dried gourd to produce a softer melody. Nowadays, bamboo pipes are played as an accompaniment to singing. They are found in the music of various ethnic groups such as in the Lanna, Phu Tai, Khmer, and Lue cultures. Singers were usually women who are regarded as the spiritual leaders in society, such as shamans. Later, the singing could be enjoyed by both men and women with lyrics usually about the group’s history, folktales, livelihoods, courtships, and various forms of entertainment (Wongthes, 2010). A number of studies have described how the Tai Dam ethnic group has maintained its culture of singing together with bamboo pipes, known as “Khab Tai Dam”. This musical culture is shared by other ethnic groups in Southeast Asia. The melodies and singing of Khab Tai Dam vary according to daily life activities and have continued as a tradition for several hundred years. Nowadays, Tai Dam people live in different countries but they maintain the original Khab Tai Dam melodies and singing which are typical of this ethnic group The Tai Dam in Southeast Asia have inevitably been impacted by globalization like other ethnic groups. State restrictions on the expression of ethnic identity in public spaces has made it necessary to select, receive, adapt, or change ethnic cultural symbols in the midst of prohibitive social conditions in each country in order to preserve distinctiveness in a multi-cultural society. Interesting issues include what conservation process the ethnic group employs to maintain its musical identity, as a cultural symbol, and how ethnic musical components can create a collective awareness of ethnicity or a relationship with people of different cultures to better understand ethnicity in a dynamic and changing society. 133 Khab Tai Dam (Black Tai Folksongs) Sutee Chansri and Somsonge Burusphat This investigation focuses on Khab Tai Dam as a case study with the aim to explore the ethnic identity conservation process amid dynamic changes and diversity in the context of ASEAN. This qualitative study is based on an ethno-musicological investigation using mainly field data. In Thailand, the field site was Khao Yoi District in Phetchaburi Province, the original settlement of Tai Dam in Thailand. In Laos, three Tai Dam villages in Luang Namtha Province were chosen because they are more densely populated, and there is considerable ethnic diversity in the area. Furthermore, Tai Dam in Vietnam believe that Muang Thaen or Dien Bien Phu was the location of original settlement, so Dien Bien Phu and Son La Provinces were selected for this study on the maintenance of their ethnic musical culture. The study results may be used by ethnic groups regarded as sub-cultures by governing systems in ASEAN as a guide to creating social space in which to adapt to new social conditions brought about by future cultural influences. Furthermore, it can also serve as a model for conserving the musical identities of other ethnic groups that share a similar singing culture. The Studies of Ethnic Identity through Music From a review of the literature on ethnic identity maintenance through music and other related studies, the content was synthesized to create the conceptual framework for this study. It started from an understanding of ethnic identity as a component to create meanings without definite aspects. Ethnic identity in this respect is merely a fluctuating social status, set to undergo changes depending on interaction under various conditions during each period of history. Such a study is defined by ethnologists as related ethnological instrumentalism (Kanjanaphan, 2005). Barth, (as cited in Luangaramsri, 2003, 2-24) elaborated on the concept of ethnicity and boundaries explaining that it stemmed from group members being able to choose certain cultural aspects to define their identity. Multiple aspects of culture are thereby selected and altered by group members to define their identity and so, ethnic boundaries or membership are subject to change. Additionally, Barth proposed that identity be considered at the awareness level of group members. Two ethnic groups may have similar cultural patterns but 134 Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts not be regarded as the same group; instead, the symbols that are unique to each group distinguish the two. (Barth, as cited in Prachuabmoh, 2004, 14-20). Group formation in a new place can maintain one’s ethnicity with the group opting to integrate certain aspects of its ethnic culture as cultural symbols to express their ethnicity. In an article, considering Karen identity expression through the Ja play, Buadaeng (2003) explained that the Karen selected important components of the Burmese play ‒ particularly paying homage to teacher’s spirits ‒ to enhance the solemnity of the play and to raise the ethnic cultural status to that of the Burmese, because they respected the same spirits and conducted the same rituals. Regarding music as a symbolic behavior of humans, Merriam (2002) summarized that music conveys symbolic meanings at four levels. The first level is a signing or symbolizing to convey meaning through music structures such as melodies, lyrics, rhythms, and instruments. The second level is music as a symbolic tool to express emotions and feelings and to reflect different meanings in different cultures. For instance, jazz was once connected to barbarism and a symbol of atheism and evil. In certain societies, musical modes are symbols to be conveyed to deities and sacred spirits. Furthermore, musical modes such as ragas in Indian music represent gender differences. In Chinese philosophy, there are five musical modes which represent five types of good deeds. The third level reflects corporate cultures and social values. In a society, there are different functions, social structures and organization cultures. In this respect, music could reflect components of various social sectors. The last level is an attempt to find shared points of behavioral expression via music at the universal level. In this aspect, music is significant at the spiritual level. Music of all types has a mysterical power to awake man to discover his true self. Even sexuality, which was once interpreted as something expressed through music, is in fact expressed through the personal attributes of the composer.